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English for children FAQS |
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Click on the question to reveal the answer. If you can't find the information you need here, contact our Customer Services team by e-mail.
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WHAT LEVEL OF ENGLISH WILL MY CHILD HAVE AFTER COMPLETING ALL BRITISH COUNCIL COURSES? |
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On successfully completing our 4 courses (“Starting Out”, year 1, to “World Explorers”, year 4), your child will be able to speak and write about familiar topics and the wider world through interacting with the teacher and other children in English. Your child will be able to read a number of different extended texts appropriate for their age, for example, stories, factual descriptions and letters. Our courses also develop the learning skills and positive attitude to learning English that your child will need to succeed further in their English language studies. Please refer to the “World Explorers”, year 4 course descriptions for more information about what your child will be able to do on completing our YL programme. |
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WHAT WILL MY CHILD DO EACH LESSON? |
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We believe it is essential for your child to engage with English in ways that are meaningful and motivating for their age and language level. At the early levels (“Starting Out” and “Building English”), we emphasise providing lots of meaningful language input through songs, stories and other contexts, along with developing essential spoken and literacy skills. Phonics instruction also forms a regular part of lessons during the “Starting Out”, year 1 course. Lessons at these early levels often involve children listening to the teacher reading a story or describing a picture and then interacting with some of the language introduced in structured, motivating activities.
At the later levels (“English Together” and “World Explorers”), we place more emphasis on children taking greater responsibility for their learning and using English to communicate about the wider world and topics that are important to them in individual and group projects. Lessons for later levels build language children need in order to complete one or more communicative activities during each class session.
Please refer to individual course descriptions to see example lessons we use at each level and more detailed descriptions of what your child will achieve by the end of each course.
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HOW CAN I FIND OUT ABOUT MY CHILD’S PROGRESS? |
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We keep you informed of your child’s progress by providing you with an end of term report after 7 weeks and a report at the end of the semester (after 6 months). We also provide timetabled face-to-face appointments between you and your child’s class teacher in the second term for the “Starting Out” and “Building English” courses. We provide an additional report in this second term for children in the “English Together” and “World Explorers” levels. We may also contact you further by telephone or through additional appointments with the class teacher if your child needs more support or guidance to ensure their continued progress. We would encourage you to work with your child and help them review lessons and complete homework to both help your child with their English and help you understand what has been covered each lesson. |
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WHAT QUALIFICATIONS DO THE TEACHERS HAVE? |
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All of our teachers are qualified to teach English and have experience of teaching English for a number of years. They all have a certificate in English teaching and at least one university degree. Many of them also have a higher-level diploma in teaching English and/or a Masters degree in a language-related subject. All of our teachers are native English speakers.
We provide high-quality young learner lesson materials and ongoing teacher training to ensure our teachers give your child a consistent, high standard of service.
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WHAT HOMEWORK IS SET AND HOW OFTEN IS IT GIVEN? |
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Your child’s class teacher will set homework regularly each week. Every piece of homework provides children with further practice of the language studied in the lesson. In the “Starting Out” level, handwriting practice is often given from your child’s phonics course book. The teacher will also provide homework handouts that involve simple letter or word matching exercises to give your child further practice of phonics or vocabulary learnt in the lesson. At later levels, homework is set from the children’s workbook and additional handouts. This homework again practises language from the lesson and usually focuses on developing your child’s reading and writing. |
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HOW CAN I HELP MY CHILD AT HOME TO DEVELOP HIS OR HER ENGLISH? |
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We provide parents’ workshops each term that give you guidance about how you can help your child improve his or her English at home. You can also ask your child’s class teacher for further advice during a timetabled appointment or contact our customer services staff who can pass your questions on to the teacher to answer. |
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Central to our teaching approach is being inclusive and fair. We include all children in lessons and work to encourage even the shyest child to develop their English language skills. Our teachers use appropriate, motivating activities that help your child build a sense of achievement and increase their confidence in using English to communicate with the teacher and other children. |
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WHAT IF MY CHILD HAS A SPECIFIC LEARNING NEED OR DISABILITY? |
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We have an equal opportunities policy which promotes inclusion and acceptance of all children where we are able to make reasonable adjustments to our service. If your child has a specific need such as a medically diagnosed learning difficulty, we ask you to work with us closely on an ongoing basis to learn about your child’s needs, the type of additional support that can be given where appropriate and to what extent we can accommodate your child. All data you provide about your child will be treated in confidence and only given to staff on a need to know basis. |
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WHY ARE THERE ONLY 4 LEVELS? |
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Our young learner courses are divided into 4 levels for children aged 7 to 12 years old (primary education level). We have developed expertise and resources to deliver quality education at this level in response to the majority of our customers’ needs. Younger children (kindergarten level, 6 years and under) and older children (junior level, 13 years and older) require different approaches and resources. We may develop courses for these other age groups in future depending on emerging customer needs and interests.
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Yes, that is correct. Our programme is divided into academic years with 2 semesters (March – August, and September – February). The six-month semester enables us to ensure the same teacher stays with a class for longer, allowing for a much more stable class environment. It has also allowed us to develop a more balanced syllabus that will focus on your child’s general educational development as well as language learning. |
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WILL MY CHILD HAVE THE SAME TEACHER FOR SIX MONTHS? |
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We provide the same teacher for a young learner class as far as possible. Occasionally, teachers are unable to teach their regularly scheduled classes for a short period of time because they are attending a training course or they are ill. When this happens, we provide a high-standard of quality teaching cover. The substitute teacher(s) liaise with the class teacher to ensure the best possible service with minimal disruption. We make every effort to provide consistent cover where possible. |
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CAN MY CHILD JOIN IN THE MIDDLE OF A SESSION? |
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Providing there is space in the level, your child can join a course after the first seven weeks. However, as our placement test places your child at the start of a level it would not be suitable to place your child into an on-going course at week 14. In this case, your child would be offered a place at the end of the preceding level where they would be able to consolidate their language in preparation for entering the level they tested at. |
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It would of course be better for your child to attend the whole course, but the syllabus does include revision and a parent of a child in such a situation would be encouraged to try and review the work from the section of the book that had been missed. Unfortunately, it will not be so easy to catch up on non-book based activities such as story telling or project work.
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CAN MY CHILD STUDY FOR SEVEN WEEKS, TAKE SEVEN WEEKS OFF AND REJOIN THE COURSE FOR THE FINAL SEVEN WEEKS? |
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It is possible to miss one 7-week term. However, it would certainly be better for a child to continue a course rather than take time off in the middle. Children often learn quickly and forget more quickly, which is why revision is so crucial to their learning. If a child misses the middle third of a course it will impact on their progress, especially if they are not studying English during that period. A strong student may well be able to cope with the additional burden, but it is unlikely that a weaker student will cope so well. On returning to study at the British Council after missing a term, we will contact you at the teacher’s request if your child is struggling and/or needs to repeat the level. |
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We do realise that in the classroom there may be some differences in ability between students but their language learning potential will be comparable. There is a difference in ability in every class, this is normal and to be expected. Current research on how children learn suggests that children readily exchange information and strategies for learning while working in pairs or groups and this open exchange of ideas and knowledge will be actively encouraged. Teachers will be working from a syllabus that is flexible and allows them to accommodate a variety of learning styles and abilities in a single classroom. We are confident that every child in every class will have the opportunity to learn and develop at an appropriate pace and reach their full potential in a friendly and positive environment. Occasionally, a child is placed in an inappropriate level or makes unusually fast progress. Our class teachers closely monitor children’s progress and if your child is too strong for the level they will inform management and we may then contact you about changing your child’s level.
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IF MY CHILD IS VERY GOOD CAN THEY SKIP THE LEVEL EVEN IN THE MIDDLE OF A SESSION? |
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Yes. It is important for us that your child is placed in an appropriate class. If the class is too easy they have limited opportunities to develop. All teachers monitor students as part of the normal class procedure and will advise parents and administration if they feel a child is too strong for a level. However, if you have not been contacted and you feel your child is in the wrong level please raise your concerns with our customer service staff. They will contact the class teacher who will monitor your child’s progress and make a decision about whether the child can move to the next level. |
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IF MY CHILD IS STRUGGLING IN A CLASS, CAN THEY GO BACK A LEVEL EVEN IN THE MIDDLE OF A SESSION? |
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Yes. All teachers monitor students as part of the normal class procedure and will advise parents and administration if they feel a child is too weak for a level. However, if you have not been contacted and you feel your child is in the wrong level please raise your concerns with our customer service staff. They will contact the class teacher who will monitor your child’s progress and make a decision about whether the child can move to the next level. If a child is struggling in a class, it can be quite damaging to their emotional well being. Whilst teachers are able to make allowances for their individual strengths/weaknesses, other students are rarely so kind. A child who finds a class too difficult can soon lose confidence and start to dislike attending class and/or learning English. As their resentment grows their learning slows, so in order to maintain a child’s self esteem and language learning potential they would be moved to a more appropriate class. |
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It is certainly hoped that there should be no reason to dislike a teacher. If you are not sure about why certain activities are done in class or you are concerned about your child’s progress, then you should raise your concerns with our customer service staff. They will contact the class teacher who will then explain the reason for particular activities being used or adapt their approach where appropriate. If for some reason your schedule changes and the class time is no longer convenient, we will try to move your child to another class but this depends upon available space at the alternative time. |
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We send you a progress report about your child’s performance at the end of seven weeks. We send you a further report at the end of the semester to show how successful your child has been and also provide your child with a certificate to show they have completed the course. Parents of children on the “Starting Out” (year 1) and “Building English” (year 2) courses have a face-to-face appointment with the class teacher in the second term. Children at the higher levels, “English Together” (year 3) and “World Explorers” (year 4), receive a further progress report at the end of the second term. |
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HOW OFTEN DO WE HAVE AN OPEN CLASS TO ALLOW PARENTS TO SEE THEIR CHILDREN IN THE CLASSROOM? |
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You will be able watch your child in their class in two open lessons during the semester. The open lessons occur at the end of the first term and at the end of the third term. You will be able to see how your child has progressed between the two open lessons. You will also be able to observe our approach to teaching English and better understand what children do in class. Children have the opportunity to show their parents what they have learned either through a performance (recitals, role-play, songs) or through a display of work done during the term (posters, projects). In this way, the open lessons provide the opportunity for children, parents and class teacher to gain a sense of pride and achievement. |
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WHAT IS THE MAXIMUM NUMBER OF ABSENCES PER TERM? |
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It is hoped that our students will attend as much of the course as possible. Any absence will mean that some information and/or practice activities have been missed so absences should always be kept to a minimum. A child who has missed more than 20% of the course will probably be weaker than their peers and a child who misses 30% may not be able to pass to the next level.
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CAN I PAY THREE TERMS TUITION FEE AT ONE TIME? |
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You will be asked to pay every seven weeks rather than in one lump sum.
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If you need your child to take time off, they will be able to drop out. However, we will not be able to hold a place on the course for your child, so we cannot guarantee there will be a space when she / he returns.
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HOW LONG IS A PLACEMENT TEST VALID FOR? |
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4 months |
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We believe in the importance of working closely with parents to help their children get the best from their English education. We recognise that you have the greatest expertise about your child’s needs, and, that your influence has a significant impact on your child’s motivation and progress. Our teachers will ask our customer service staff to telephone you about a range of problems, which, with your help, we can work to overcome and so help your child improve his or her English language development. This may be something minor like forgetting to bring classroom materials such as pencils or the class notebook. Even though minor, it is important you are aware of such issues because they can slow the pace of the class and hamper your child’s ability to do class activities.
We may also telephone you if your child has behaved poorly or is having difficulty coping at the current level. In such instances we will outline the problem and agree solutions with you. Some children take longer to improve their English or to learn social and learning skills they need to work successfully on their own or with others. After repeated poor behaviour or if your child is not making progress, the teacher will arrange to meet you to find out from you more about your child’s needs and to agree with you a possible plan of action.
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PDF, 115KB) which is displayed in our centre and is available on our website to download.